Discretionary business grant applications open - but Camden Council warns thousands will miss out
Cllr Danny Beales has asked the government for further funding to meet "local need". Picture: Camden Council - Credit: Camden Council
A new round of grant funding is available for businesses stricken by the Covid-19 lockdown - but Camden Council is warning thousands of traders will be left in the lurch.
The government’s discretionary grants scheme, announced on May 2 and opened in Haringey and Camden last week, is designed to support businesses ineligible for previous funding.
Applications for Camden businesses close on Friday, June 19 and in Haringey on June 28.
Successful applicants with a shared workspace will be awarded £10,000, market traders £1,000, and up to £25,000 for businesses in “extreme hardship”.
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Camden Council, which has received £3.64 million from Whitehall for the scheme, estimates it will be able to approve 300-350 applications - still leaving a projected 2,500 eligible businesses without support.
The town hall’s planning chief Cllr Danny Beales has written to the government asking for more funding to match “local need”.
Cllr Beales wrote: “Put simply, there is not enough money to support business groups that government has publicly encouraged us to support and still too many restrictions to direct it to all the businesses needing support.
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“We firmly believe that Camden’s business community is worth investing in to support the recovery of the national economy and urge you to consider further grant funding to meet the unsatisfied demand we believe exists.”
Cllr Beales anticpated most applications from retail, hospitality and leisure businesses; tenants in co-working spaces; Camden Market traders and Hatton Garden jewellers.
For more information on the discretionary grants fund in Camden click here.
For Haringey click here.
